Zulu Dawn (1979)

In January 1879 South Africa, British forces invade the Zulu empire in an attempt to crush their nation which is seen as a threat to the expansion of British colonialism. A prequel to the excellent 1964 film ZULU which documented the battle of Rorke's Drift which occurred after the massacre at Isandlwana which this film portrays, it's simply not as good. The 1964 film was able to concentrate on a very specific aspect which kept the anxiety factor high and its characters were better delineated. But the lengthy battle of Isandlwana is superbly done. In addition, it's difficult to sympathize with the arrogant, naive (or stupid if you prefer) Brits. Whatever one's thoughts on colonialism, you admired the courage of the British soldiers in ZULU. Here, they seem determined to muck everything up. Directed by Douglas Hickox (THEATRE OF BLOOD) and a stirring score by Elmer Bernstein. It's not the kind of film where the acting matters much but that's still no excuse for the awfulness of Ronald Lacey's performance. The large cast includes Burt Lancaster, Peter O'Toole, John Mills, Bob Hoskins, Simon Ward, Denholm Elliott, Nigel Davenport, Michael Jayston, Nicholas Clay, Freddie Jones, Simon Sabela, Christopher Cazenove and Phil Daniels (QUADROPHENIA).